


from shadow into light

by windwhisper



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Ducktales [2017] Season One Spoilers, Gen, donald is also there but lena's not really paying attention to him, look at that it's another 'lena returns' fic, so bc he isn't really relevant i didn't tag him, the ship is mostly 'if you read it that way' this time around
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-18 11:49:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16994448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/windwhisper/pseuds/windwhisper
Summary: One minute Lena's not even a person, and the next she falls to the floor and gets tackle-hugged by someone she never thought she'd get to see again.(Or, Lena finally comes home.)





	from shadow into light

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this bc i missed lena and thought she deserved a hug
> 
> i feel like i either have a title and no fic or a fic and no title
> 
> today was the latter and i'm still not sure i'm happy w/ my decision but here we are

She feels nothing (physically speaking, because emotionally she feels everything all at once, guilt and sadness and anger all directed at herself), and then she feels _something_ , tugging her out of the shadows and into the light, and she's fighting it as best she can when she stumbles back and hits the floor.

Wait, what floor? There's a floor?

That’s all she has time to think before a familiar face appears, throwing their arms around her neck and shouting her name:

“ _Lena!_ ” 

The shadow girl doesn't make a conscious effort to return the embrace, but it happens anyway, almost on instinct. In the same vein, she shouts the name of her assailant, before she even realizes she's speaking:

“Webby!”

After a minute or so, she's started to pull herself together a little bit, she thinks. At least, she hopes so. “Hey, Webby,” she says, and being able to speak (and touch and feel and see and smell anything but stretching darkness for more than a few minutes, actually) again is kind of weird, but in a good way. “Miss me?”

“Of course I missed you, you beautiful angel! You're my best friend!” If it's even possible, Webby holds on tighter, like she never wants to let go for anything. Honestly, Lena feels the same way right now. She’d almost accepted that she’d never be on the receiving end of one of Webby’s death-hugs again, that she’d never be _real_. But it’s kind of hard to argue with the evidence, all things considered. Webby’s still talking, though, so she tunes her own thoughts out and tries to pay attention. “But you're back now, so it's okay, right?”

There's really only one answer Lena can give her, after all the trouble she's caused her best friend. “Right. I'm not going anywhere this time.”

“Promise?” Webby presses, and she looks hopeful but there's still a little bit of worry in her eyes.

“Cross my heart and hope to d-- poor word choice,” she realizes aloud, halfway through saying it, wincing slightly. “I promise I won't leave you again,” she says instead. “You're my best friend.” There's more to it than that, kind of, but also not really, and that doesn't mean it's not still the truth, anyway. Because she is. Webby is a million different things, but 'best friend’ will always be first place for Lena.

Eventually, Lena tries to lift herself off the ground without sending Webby to the floor. It's a bit of a challenge, especially since she hasn't done any physical anything in months, but she eventually manages it. Webby, unsurprisingly, didn't move at all, except for the fact that their height difference meant Lena was pretty much lifting her off the ground now.

And then, glancing around the room, she realizes a little too late it's more than just her and Webby in this room. “Heyyy,” she says, casually leaning against the wall like that's supposed to make it less obvious that she completely failed to notice any of them until now.

The triplets are clearly amused at her, or possibly at Webby, who is still clinging to her and showing no signs of letting go anytime soon. She doesn't mind it much, actually: from Webby, she'd expect nothing less. And the sight of them like this is probably just a bit ridiculous, so she'll let their laughter slide. She's got a reputation to uphold, though, even if the universe seems determined to destroy it.

Speaking of which, Beakley and Scrooge and Donald are there, too. She wonders if Scrooge even remembers what he'd said to her when they were trapped together. She certainly does, but she hasn't had much else to think about. And Beakley is probably the most consistent authority figure she's ever had in her life (Magica was never anything of the sort). Despite her misgivings she'd given Lena a chance to prove herself. A chance she'd never deserved, but nevertheless. Donald, meanwhile… They’d spoken a couple of times, if it could be called that when she had no clue what he was saying (Webby had, at the time, assured her that it was very much an acquired skill). The point, however: she's unsure of how to approach them, unsure where she stands.

In the end, she doesn't need to, because Scrooge steps forward first. “Welcome home, lass. If you still want it to be, that is.”

Lena has never been outwardly emotional, with very rare exceptions, but in that moment she almost starts crying. She manages not to with the knowledge of just how many people are in the room, and just sighs. “Well. You already went to all this trouble to bring me back and I’d hate to impose, but I'm guessing my old place isn’t exactly in the best condition?”

“Was it _ever_?” the green triplet asks, doubtfully glancing to his brothers. The blue one shakes his head. Their names escape her.

Webby just stares her in the eye with a big grin on her face and confirms her suspicions. “Yeah, we burned it.”

“We saved what we could, though,” the red triplet interjects. Huey, she's pretty sure, after a few moments of thought. She'll probably need to make more of a conscious effort to remember everyone's names if she's going to stay, she realizes. “Most of it was just unsalvageable.”

“Thanks,” she says, and finds she means it despite the sarcastic tone. “So, I don't really have any other options, and you actually seem to want me around for whatever reason.” It’s enough of a reason for her, at least, and the others seem to accept it.

“A promise is a promise,” Scrooge shrugs. Huh. She really hadn’t expected him to acknowledge that out loud, if at all, and he’s getting odd looks from just about everyone except her after mentioning it. For her part, Lena just nods in acknowledgement.

Webby, however, has her own perspective on the situation, once she stops staring at the old man: “SLEEPOVER TIME IS GONNA BE ALL THE TIME!” she shouts, every ounce of her trademark enthusiasm intact.

(Lena decides she didn’t need her sense of hearing anyway.)

Lena wasn't exactly good at saying no to Webby before, and after all this it would be downright impossible, so she's grateful when Beakley comes to her rescue. “Maybe you ought to ease her into all of that, dear. One step at a time.”

“Right… It's probably a little overwhelming, huh?”

“Little bit,” Lena confirms, mentally debating whether it would be possible to send Teatime a gift basket or a thank you card or something, her ears still ringing from Webby screaming directly into her skull. Webby is at least thoughtful, and tries to unlatch herself from around her best friend's neck while Lena watches the dawning realization on her face with amusement. “You used glue, didn't you.”

“Maaaaybe,” Webby admits, her tone anything but guilty. “It’ll wear off in an hour or so. Probably. ...Welcome home, Lena.”

**Author's Note:**

> if anything doesn't make sense that's probably bc i was either half-asleep while writing/editing or just because i failed to explain it, so please ask if you're confused and feel free to call me out on my mistakes (i last watched season one in like... october, so there's a decent chance i may have referenced something incorrectly/failed to reference something that would have made sense)
> 
> there was a lot of stuff i cut out but i'll probably write it separately (like lena actually interacting w/ hdl and donald, which i cut bc i felt like it would be a little out of place and also maybe make this longer than i really wanted it to be)


End file.
